BJ's Chang'an Street to expand west after Shougang's relocation

12-29-2010 14:04 BJT

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As Shougang Group is set to move out of Beijing, it makes room for something else. The local government will expand Chang'an Street, the main street here, in the country's capital. It will invest nearly 2 billion yuan to reconstruct the area and expand out west. Officials say the expansion will give a boost to the local economy.

Officials say the western expansion of Chang'an Street will be a new tourism spot. It's also set to revive the local economy, with room for development on the land around the expanded street.

Zhou Maofei, Chief of Shijingshan District said "The land will attract many high-end companies to develop in Shijingshan District. I believe it will become a road of fortune."

The local government will expand Chang'an Street, the main street here, in the country's capital.

The official also says the industrial zone previously occupied by Shougang Group will be developed into industrial theme parks and lakes.

Zhou Maofei said "We want to build it into a very beautiful and modern tourism area in Beijing. And we will integrate land along the riverside to attract international creative industries and modern service companies to develop here."

And there's more good news for residents of Beijing. After Shougang Group relocates, air quality is expected to improve in the district, once considered a major polluting area in the capital.

Editor:Xiong Qu |Source: CNTV.CN

Shougang Group to stop production in BJ by year end

12-29-2010 14:01 BJT

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Chinese iron and steelmaker, Shougang Group, will stop production in Beijing's Shijingshan District by the end of this year. It's relocating its facilities to neighboring Hebei Province, for environmental concerns.

Founded in 1919, the group ranked 39th in the top 500 Chinese companies in 2009. In 2010, Shougang produced more than 31 million tons of steel. The company's sales revenue reached nearly 190 billion yuan this year, and its asset value totaled more than 300 billion yuan. Shougang was the largest enterprise in Beijing.

Chinese iron and steelmaker, Shougang Group, will stop production in Beijing's Shijingshan District by the end of this year.

And after the relocation, the company will only keep one production line in the city, which will have a limited environmental impact.

Analysts: Auto tax break cancellation no great impact on car industry

12-29-2010 13:51 BJT

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Analysts say the cancellation of that preferential tax break for smaller engines has been well anticipated and will not have a great impact on the auto industry nor auto stocks.

They also note that although this tax has been canceled, many other preferential polices, such as energy-saving subsidies, are still available. Therefore, they say, the impacts on car sales is "likely" to be temporary, and "unlikely" to affect the sales of small placement cars in the long run.

Editor:Xiong Qu |Source: CNTV.CN

LG sets ambitious sales goal for 2011

12-29-2010 13:56 BJT

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South Korea's LG Group is aiming for record sales of about 136 billion US dollars next year with its key electronics units expected to contribute to over two-thirds of revenue. The figure is an 11 percent increase from this year's sales of over 120 billion US dollars.

If you remember back about a week ago, LG said it would spend nearly 70 percent of a record 18 billion US dollars in planned investments for next year in electronics. Keep in mind though, a significant part of the spending will go into turning around its money-losing mobile phone business. The group also wants to step into new growth areas in consumer electronics... such as tablets and advanced flat panel displays.

Editor:Xiong Qu |Source: CNTV.CN

New York luxury house price rise

12-29-2010 13:59 BJT

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The U.S. high-end real estate market is showing signs of improvement in New York while the national market continues to struggle.

Prices for New York apartments over 2.5 million US dollars are still down 3 percent from the high-flying days before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, but that's a big improvement from the 13 percent plunge they took the first year after the financial crisis began. That according to figures from StreetEasy.com.

Jacky Teplitzky, managing director for Prudential Douglas Elliman, has the listing for this two bedroom apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The U.S. high-end real estate market is showing signs of improvement in New York while the national market continues to struggle.

Jacky Teplitzky, Managing Director of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate said "And you have the nice cabinets."

Teplitzky says the real estate market in New York is doing better than the rest of the United States, because it's more diversified, more desired and land is limited.

But New York faces similar challenges to the rest of the nation, such as tougher loan requirements and bigger down payments. Welcome to the new economy.

Jacky Teplitzky said "If people are still looking to put 20% down payment, I can tell you, that is not going to work anymore. You have to think in most cases you have to put 25% and up."

But some people are not even looking to buy these days. Without rising prices, returns on real estate investments have dropped, so many people are renting instead. Dawn Doherty of StreetEasy.com.

Dawn Doherty, VP Strategic Development Streeteasy.com said "There were 4 buildings in the 3rd quarter of this year that on average the apts were 13k a month, certainly some were much higher than that. And we saw those buildings rent out within two months. 100%

But as owners and developers see rising prices, those rentals may not last. Many of them may be converted to properties for sale, and that may mean an even stronger luxury real estate market for 2011.

Editor:Xiong Qu |Source: CNTV.CN

Car buyers snap up small engine cars

12-29-2010 13:53 BJT

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Even before the preferential policy was officially cancelled, Chinese car buyers have been rushing to snap up cars with smaller engines.

In China's eastern city of Nanjing, buyers flooded car dealerships to buy small-engine cars, amid expectations the preferential tax policy would not be extended.

Zhou Kaishun, one salesman said "The sales are good, or even crazy, I would say. We have run out of stock. Now it takes at least a month or two before the customer can collect their pre-ordered car."

The buying bonanza isn't just keeping car dealers busy. Local tax authorities are dealing with more than the usual numbers of car owners, who've come to pay purchase taxes.

Jian Yun, new car buyer said "It's been said the preferential tax might be canceled, so we want to buy a car before that. It will save me thousands of yuan, at least."

According to Nanjing tax authorities, December has seen a record high for new cars levied with the vehicle purchase tax. And nearly 170 million yuan worth of purchase tax was collected in the first 20 days of the month.

Editor:Xiong Qu |Source: CNTV.CN

China launches first national FoF

12-29-2010 13:38 BJT

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As seasoned investors know, diversification and smart asset allocation are the twin pillars of a low-risk portfolio. And a fund of funds, or multi-manager investing, allows investors to do just that. FoFs are funds that invest in other funds, rather than investing directly in securities. And now Chinese investors can get involved, with the country's first state-level yuan-based FOF.

China's yuan FoF was jointly established by the Suzhou Ventures Group and China Development Bank Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the China Development Bank.

China's yuan FoF was jointly established by the Suzhou Ventures Group and China Development Bank Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the China Development Bank.

FoFs invest in funds including venture capital and private equity funds, and is a standard investment technique in the financial industry. One of primary aims of China's yuan-based FoF is to support the overseas expansion of Chinese companies.

Chen Yuan, Chairman of China Development Bank said "The liquidity capital of the market is sufficient, but we're still lacking an effective tool to hedge and increase the value of that capital. For companies who want to get listed, China's stock market requires them to have earnings first. So the national FoF will provide greater fundraising opportunities."

The bank's president also says they will invest in funds with a preference for high-tech and strategic industries, supporting them to become global leaders in their fields. The fund will be valued at 15 billion yuan during its first operational phase, with 10 billion yuan to be set aside for a Private Equity FoF. The remaining 5 billion yuan will be put towards a Venture Capital FoF, and managed by the Suzhou Ventures Group.

China's yuan FoF was jointly established by the Suzhou Ventures Group and China Development Bank Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the China Development Bank.

Yan Li, Mayor of Suzhou said "The support of China Development Bank will help boost the innovative sectors in our economy. We believe the establishment of the FoF will accelerate the transformation of Suzhou's economy."

The Private Equity FoF will mainly invest in funds focused on industrial mergers and acquisitions, while the Venture Capital FOF will predominately invest in high-potential start-up companies.